Vegetated roofing assemblies recognized

[1]Vancouver Island University’s Cowichan Campus in Duncan, B.C., features a 4645-m2 (50,000-sf) vegetated roof. Approximately 44,000 native plants were used in the project. Photo courtesy Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

A Vancouver project and a Canadian researcher are among this year’s winners of the 11th annual Green Roof and Wall Awards of Excellence.

Presented by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the honours are distributed in 11 categories, and are chosen by a jury panel of industry experts.

“As the multiple benefits of green roofs and walls become increasingly recognized, we are seeing more projects that use an integrated green building approach,” GRHC’s Paul Erlichman told Construction Canada Online. “We are seeing bolder designs that not only incorporate more sophisticated methods of stormwater management and energy savings, but also urban agriculture, therapeutic concerns, education programming, and other diverse elements.”

Additionally, Maureen Connelly, PhD, from the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s (BCIT) green roof research program was honoured with the Research Award. Her work focuses on acoustic performance of vegetated roofs and walls, and the benefits of ‘sky parks’ in high-density urban locations.

The awards will be presented at this year’s CitiesAlive conference in San Francisco on October 25.